School Board: Parents question combining early grades
Plans to combine kindergarten and first grade in a single classroom and to give third and fourth graders a taste of the middle school concept drew concerns from parents at Monday night’s School Board meeting. But they appeared more relaxed with the ideas after hearing from Superintendent Michael Hynes.
While kindergartners and first graders will share a classroom, they will have one teacher, a teacher’s assistant and an aide, Dr. Hynes said. Students will get more individualized attention and a kindergartner entering school in September will have the security of having the same staff members for two years, he added.
The value of having the same teacher for two years is that he or she will be better able to monitor student needs and suggest remediation when necessary, board member Linda Eklund commented, adding there’s also more opportunity for teacher collaboration.
Other specialists such as remedial reading teachers will be used to assist the students and, for part of the day, the groups will be separated for specific studies, Dr. Hynes said. The larger classroom will enable small groups to be created for various activities.
As for the plan to have two teachers — one skilled in English language arts and social studies and the other in math and science — working with students in the third and fourth grades, it will ensure that students will get a better grounding in all subjects. Third and fourth graders won’t share a classroom but will move from room to room for various subjects, he said.
Parents were concerned about who would be teaching the two classes. That was something Dr. Hynes said he couldn’t yet answer. It’s a personnel decision that is still being addressed but he promised that parents would be told when the teachers had been assigned. He also pledged to set up a meeting with the parents once all the details of the program have been worked out. Meanwhile, he invited anyone with specific concerns about who might be teaching the class to make an appointment to meet with him.
COMPUTER GUIDANCE
School Guidance Counselor Mark Palios outlined two new computer programs — one that will enable parents to more closely monitor their children’s classroom progress and another that will serve as a guide as students begin to plan their paths to college.
The Powerschool Parent Portal enables parents to monitor their children’s grades, day-to-day performance and class absences, Mr. Palios said. The system is just being rolled out and not all teachers are fully engaged with it yet, he added. Parents need to call the school to arrange access to their children’s records and, if they find a particular teacher isn’t providing them with information, they can speak with that teacher to try to close the gap.
The second program, Naviance Family Connection, enables parents and students to plan studies necessary to reaching their goals. It also provide access information about various careers and colleges. Students can compare their own academic records with standards various college set to determine their likelihood of being accepted, Mr. Palios said.
He also presented a high school course curriculum developed to assist students in planning their studies over a four-year period to help them achieve their goals.
Right now, the program is open to high school students, but the guidance teacher said he could envision making it available to students in grades five to 12.
PLEA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmentalist Herb Stelljes asked board members to consider adding environmental studies to the curriculum and referred board members to Green Ribbon Schools programs for guidance.
“Shelter Island is a great place to do this,” Mr. Stelljes said. It will not only prepare students to be better citizens but open career opportunities for them, he said. He offered his help in developing the program if the board wanted him to be involved.
CALENDAR
Board members said they would discuss the proposed calendar for the next school year. One issue will be Dr. Hynes’ proposal for the final parent-teacher conferences to be held in the last quarter of the year.
Board members Linda Eklund and Elizabeth Melichar expressed concerns about such late scheduling and suggested that earlier conferences would enable more time for student improvement where necessary. The discussion was tabled until the board’s special budget meeting on Monday, March 26.
ACADEMIC GARB
When seniors don their caps and gowns to receive their diplomas in June, they may be joined by faculty members wearing similar academic regalia. Dr. Hynes suggested the garb and board members and parents expressed support for the idea. A decision is to be made at the March 26 meeting.
It would teach students to be respectful of education and see it as something to aspire to, Ms. Melichar said.
APPOINTMENTS
The board approved hiring Mary Boeklen as an interim teacher aide at a salary of $18,353; hired Kathleen Minder as a part-time account clerk for 17.5 hours a week at $18 an hour; and agreed to pay Ian Kanarvogel $2,347 to serve as coach of the junior high school boys baseball team.
